YOUR ACTION NEEDED BY JAN 23RD TO HELP US CONSERVE WATERRelease Date: January 21, 2017

CITIZENS WATER ADVISORY COMMITTEE NEEDS YOUR HELP TO PUSH NYS TO TAKE A STEP FORWARD ON WATER CONSERVATION--

WE NEED YOUR HELP BY JANUARY 23RD

I’m writing to you on behalf of the Town of Greenburgh Water Advisory Committee ("WAC")1 to ask for your quick help in asking New York State to take a step forward on water conservation.

1 The Water Advisory Committee was established by the Town of Greenburgh Town Board on March 28, 2012 with the mission to: 1) determine appropriate water rates; 2) address existing and future concerns affecting the Town’s water supply; 3) educate ratepayers of necessary and vital infrastructure requirements; and 4) help to provide a safe and sustainable water supply and delivery infrastructure for the future.

On January 23, the New York State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council ("Code Council") will review and, we hope, approve requirements in the building code for plumbing fixtures and appliances in new construction to meet WaterSense standards, which would make plumbing fixtures more water efficient. If approved, that would make New York the eighth state to require WaterSense either through building code or through legislation.

The WAC is writing to ask you to write to the Code Council ahead of the January 23 meeting to ask for this change. Your comment would need to be received by the Code Council as soon as possible to make a difference. We are trying to reinforce the message as they take this up for consideration again after deferring a decision.

The Code Council has deferred a decision on this for at least two years. NYC has had this requirement in place since 2012.

Water conservation is the least expensive and least environmentally harmful water source. Water conservation also directly results in energy conservation all along the water supply cycle, from pumping to treatment to heating to wastewater treatment.

WaterSense is a United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") program, in existence since 2006. WaterSense certifies fixtures, in the same way that Energy Star certification works. Over half of the toilets currently on the market are WaterSense certified and there are also WaterSense certified shower heads, urinals, commercial toilets, irrigation controllers, and faucets. Certified fixtures are widely available, well tested by the marketplace (and by EPA and professional plumbing groups) and are available at no more cost than less efficient fixtures and appliances. January 17, 2017 Page 2

It makes good sense to pass this standard at the state level. Otherwise WaterSense would need to be passed town by town and village by village, an arduous process for all.

Please send your note to Gerard Hathaway, Assistant Director of Code Development at the Department of State at Gerard.Hathaway@dos.ny.gov and cc New York Secretary of State Rossana Rosado at rossana.rosado@dos.ny.gov.

Please see below for links to more information. In addition, I am attaching a copy of the WAC’s letter to Mr. Hathaway.

Thank you for your help!

Very truly yours,

/s/

Daniel Rosenblum

Chair

Town of Greenburgh Water Advisory Committee

EPA website with more information about WaterSense:

https://www3.epa.gov/watersense/partners/certification.html

National Conference of State Legislators website on water efficiency requirement in other states:

Received an email yesterday from a resident who felt that the e mail I sent out yesterday about the immigrant who opened a deli in Elmsford was misleading. I mentioned that immigrants are scared about the new administration's policies. He indicated that our new President has not objected to those who have come to the United States legally. Sindi Zhinin, who opened up RINCON LA CHORRERA deli at 260 North Saw Mill River Road in Elmsford is an immigrant who is now a citizen. I found her story to be uplifting, hopeful and inspiring. I personally disagree with the President's stated policies re: immigration but don't want to misrepresent his position on legal immigrants.